Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and motor neurone disease: identifying a common mechanism.

Although Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and motor neurone disease are distinct disorders, there could be a common neurodegenerative mechanism that characterises the death of selective neurone populations in each case. We propose that this mechanism could be an aberrantly activated, developmental process involving a non-classical, non-enzymatic action of acetylcholinesterase mediated via a short linear motif near the C-terminal end of the molecule. Since this motif has a highly conserved homology with part of the amyloid precursor protein, it may be particularly attractive as a target for novel therapeutic strategies in neurodegeneration.

Vaccinia virus utilizes microtubules for movement to the cell surface.

Vaccinia virus (VV) egress has been studied using confocal, video, and electron microscopy. Previously, intracellular-enveloped virus (IEV) particles were proposed to induce the polymerization of actin tails, which propel IEV particles to the cell surface. However, data presented support an alternative model in which microtubules transport virions to the cell surface and actin tails form beneath cell-associated enveloped virus (CEV) particles at the cell surface. Thus, VV is unique in using both microtubules and actin filaments for egress. The following data support this proposal. (a) Microscopy detected actin tails at the surface but not the center of cells. (b) VV mutants lacking the A33R, A34R, or A36R proteins are unable to induce actin tail formation but produce CEV and extracellular-enveloped virus. (c) CEV formation is inhibited by nocodazole but not cytochalasin D or 4-amino-5-(4-methylphenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo(3,4-d)pyrimidine (PP1). (d) IEV particles tagged with the enhanced green fluorescent protein fused to the VV B5R protein moved inside cells at 60 microm/min. This movement was stop-start, was along defined pathways, and was inhibited reversibly by nocodazole. This velocity was 20-fold greater than VV movement on actin tails and consonant with the rate of movement of organelles along microtubules.

Polycystin-1 expression in PKD1, early-onset PKD1, and TSC2/PKD1 cystic tissue.

BACKGROUND: The mutational mechanism responsible for cyst formation in polycystic kidney disease 1 gene (PKD1) remains controversial, with data indicating a two-hit mechanism, but also evidence of polycystin-1 expression in cystic tissue. METHODS: To investigate this apparent paradox, we analyzed polycystin-1 expression in cystic renal or liver tissue from 10 patients with truncating PKD1 mutations (including one early-onset case) and 2 patients with severe disease associated with contiguous deletions of TSC2 and PKD1, using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to both extreme N-(7e12) and C-terminal (PKS-A) regions of the protein. Truncation of the C-terminal epitope from the putative mutant proteins in each case allowed exclusive assessment of the nontruncated protein with PKS-A. RESULTS: In adult PKD1 tissue, the majority of cysts (approximately 80%) showed polycystin-1 expression, although staining was absent in a variable but significant minority (approximately 20%), in spite of the normal expression of marker proteins. Unlike adult PKD1, however, negative cysts were rarely found in infantile PKD1 or TSC2/PKD1 deletion cases. CONCLUSIONS: If a two-hit mutational mechanism is operational, these results suggest that the majority of somatic mutations in adult PKD1 are likely to be missense changes. The low level of polycystin-1-negative cysts in the three "early-onset" cases, however, suggests that a somatic PKD1 mutation may not always be required for cyst formation.

Vaccinia virus intracellular mature virions contain only one lipid membrane.

Vaccinia virus (VV) morphogenesis commences with the formation of lipid crescents that grow into spherical immature virus (IV) and then infectious intracellular mature virus (IMV) particles. Early studies proposed that the lipid crescents were synthesized de novo and matured into IMV particles that contained a single lipid bilayer (S. Dales and E. H. Mosbach, Virology 35:564-583, 1968), but a more recent study reported that the lipid crescent was derived from membranes of the intermediate compartment (IC) and contained a double lipid bilayer (B. Sodiek et al., J. Cell Biol. 121:521-541, 1993). In the present study, we used high-resolution electron microscopy to reinvestigate the structures of the lipid crescents, IV, and IMV particles in order to determine if they contain one or two membranes. Examination of thin sections of Epon-embedded, VV-infected cells by use of a high-angular-tilt series of single sections, serial-section analysis, and high-resolution digital-image analysis detected only a single, 5-nm-thick lipid bilayer in virus crescents, IV, and IMV particles that is covered by a 8-nm-thick protein coat. In contrast, it was possible to discern tightly apposed cellular membranes, each 5 nm thick, in junctions between cells and in the myelin sheath of Schwann cells around neurons. Serial-section analysis and angular tilt analysis of sections detected no continuity between virus lipid crescents or IV particles and cellular membrane cisternae. Moreover, crescents were found to form at sites remote from IC membranes-namely, within the center of virus factories and within the nucleus-demonstrating that crescent formation can occur independently of IC membranes. These data leave unexplained the mechanism of single-membrane formation, but they have important implications with regard to the mechanism of entry of IMV and extracellular enveloped virus into cells; topologically, a one-to-one membrane fusion suffices for delivery of the IMV core into the cytoplasm. Consistent with this, we have demonstrated previously by confocal microscopy that uncoated virus cores within the cytoplasm lack the IMV surface protein D8L, and we show here that intracellular cores lack the surface protein coat and lipid membrane.

Vector alkaline phophatase substrate Blue III: one substrate for brightfield histochemistry and high-resolution fluorescence imaging by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

A number of histochemical chromogenic substrates for alkaline phosphatase are commercially available and give reaction products with a range of colours for brightfield examination. Some of these reaction products are also fluorescent, exhibiting a wide excitation range and a broad emission peak. We report here that one of these substrates, Vector Blue III, yields a stable, strongly fluorescent reaction product with an excitation peak around 500 nm and a large Stokes shift to an emission peak at 680 nm. The reaction product can be excited using a mercury lamp with a fluorescein excitation filter or an argon ion laser at 488 nm or 568 nm, and the emission detected using a long-pass filter designed for Cy-5. Thus, a single substrate is suitable for brightfield imaging of tissue sections and high-resolution analysis of subcellular detail, using a confocal laser scanning microscope, in the same specimen.

Anti-biotin antibodies offer superior organelle-specific labeling of mitochondria over avidin or streptavidin.

The mitochondrial matrix contains endogenously biotinylated proteins. These proteins can cause unexpected background signal when biotin-avidin- or biotin-streptavidin-based detection systems are used in immunocytochemistry. Here we show that this reactivity can be deliberately exploited, using a simple anti-biotin reagent, to obtain strong and highly specific labeling of mitochondria by both light and electron microscopy. The signal is substantially stronger than when either avidin or streptavidin is used to detect the endogenous biotin. These results confirm the accessibility of protein-bound endogenous biotin to exogenous probes, and localize the biotinylated enzymes to the mitochondrial matrix.

Production of a functional anti-scorpion hemocyanin scFv in Escherichia coli.

A58 is a murine monoclonal antibody raised against the internal dimeric subunit A alpha 1 of the hemocyanin of the scorpion Androctonus australis. When A58 is tested against a range of related hemocyanins, it exhibits cross-reactivity with a limited number of scorpion species. All of them belong to a single Scorpion Family: the Buthidae. We have utilized a bacterial expression-export system in which the variable regions of A58 are expressed as a single-chain variable fragment (scFv). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the cloning and modification of the heavy and light variable regions which were assembled into a scFv. After insertion into a vector which contains the pectate lyase signal sequence from Erwinia caratovora for periplasmic expression, a scFv protein was produced in high yield as a soluble and functional protein. The bacterial produced A58 scFv has binding properties similar to those of the original murine antibody. It binds specifically the heterodimeric subunit of Androctonus australis hemocyanin, cross-reacts with only one subunit of each Buthidae investigated, and blocks the recognition of the hemocyanin by antibody A58 in competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Previous reports have demonstrated the value of monoclonal antibodies in taxonomical and molecular evolution studies. A58scFv is the first of a new generation of antigen-binding proteins which should prove useful both in taxonomical studies and in the analysis of VH--VL structure-function relationships of antibodies.

Spike--nucleocapsid interaction in Semliki Forest virus reconstructed using network antibodies.

Using in vitro immunization, we have reconstructed three consecutive steps of an idiotype network to show that the nucleocapsid of Semliki Forest virus contains a specific 'receptor' for the cytoplasmic tail of the E2 spike glycoprotein. This interaction could be the basis for the highly selective inclusion of viral glycoproteins--and exclusion of host cell surface proteins--during virus budding.

Isolation and expression of cDNA clones encoding a human receptor for IgG (Fc gamma RII).

We have cloned and expressed a cDNA encoding a human receptor for IgG (Fc gamma R) from the monocyte cell line U937. The deduced structure is a 35-kD transmembrane protein with homology to the mouse Fc[gamma 2b/gamma 1] receptor amino acid sequence of approximately 60% in the extracellular domain. The signal sequence is homologous to the mouse Fc gamma R alpha cDNA clone, while the transmembrane domain shares homology with mouse Fc gamma R beta cDNAs. The cytoplasmic domain is apparently unique. The extracellular domain shows significant homology to proteins of the Ig gene superfamily, including the human c-fms protooncogene/CSF-1 receptor. Mouse Ltk- cells transfected with the human Fc gamma R cDNA express a cell-surface receptor that selectively binds human IgG and is recognized by the anti-Fc gamma RII mAb IV.3. Antibodies against peptides derived from the human Fc gamma R sequence specifically stain U937 cells, but not an Fc gamma RII-bearing B-lymphoblastoid cell line (Daudi). These results identify the human Fc gamma RII as the homologue of mouse Fc[gamma 2b/gamma 1] R, and provide evidence for heterogeneity of Fc gamma RII expressed on monocytes and B cells.

Some medical applications of the oxford scanning proton microprobe.

Results from several medical investigations carried out using the Oxford scanning proton microprobe are presented, including maps of the hepatic copper-distribution in primary biliary cirrhosis and maps of the iron distribution in primary hemochromatosis. Preliminary studies of human nervous tissue reveal that morphologically recognizable structures can be differentiated using precision elemental mapping, and this may lead to a powerful new way of distinguishing subtle perturbations of structure and function. In further prelimianry studies, localized aluminum structures have been observed in Alzheimer's disease tissue at bulk levels of less than parts per million.

Intracellular antigens associated with the cytoplasmic surface of phagolysosomes.

Monoclonal antibodies were prepared to study the cytoplasmic face of latex phagolysosomes isolated from thioglycollate-elicited mouse peritoneal macrophages. Phagolysosomes obtained by sucrose flotation contained latent beta-glucuronidase activity and tightly associated cellular proteins and glycoproteins. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that the particle preparation contained greater than 98% monomers and dimers, invested with a smooth layer of membrane and minimally contaminated with cytoplasmic adhesions. Sera for immunized rats bound preferentially to isolated phagolysosomes rather than intact cells and monoclonal antibodies PL-1 and PL-4 were isolated on this basis. Indirect fluorescent, radio- and peroxidase immunobinding assays with intact and methanol-permeabilized cells confirmed that antigens PL-1 and PL-4 were exclusively intracellular and that well-washed phagolysosomes bound both antibodies. These antigens were found in a variety of cells from several species and in macrophages not fed latex. Although the PL-1 antigen could not be immunoprecipitated, intracellular staining was characteristic of intermediate filament distribution, that is, it was in the form of a fine intersecting network, which collapsed, reversibly, in a rim round the nucleus upon treatment with colcemid. The staining pattern was undetectable in cells 1 h after adherence to a substratum, but gradually appeared after 6-12 h. The PL-4 antibody has been shown elsewhere to define a Ca2+-binding protein of approximately 20 000 molecular weight, which is phosphorylated during phagocytosis. This antibody stained stress fibres and revealed a widespread punctate distribution of antigen within cells at all stages after adhesion. The nature of the association between these intracellular antigens and phagolysosomes and their possible role in phagocytosis are not known.

Hepatic copper distribution in primary biliary cirrhosis shown by the scanning proton microprobe.

A number of conditions are associated with abnormalities of trace metal handling by the liver. We report the application of the Oxford scanning proton microprobe to the analysis of hepatic copper in one such condition, primary biliary cirrhosis. The scanning proton microprobe analyses conventional tissue sections (5-10 micron thickness) and produces simultaneous elemental distribution maps of biologically relevant elements with a spatial resolution of 1 micron and a detection limit better than 1 ppm. We have confirmed the localisation of excess copper to periportal areas and suggest that such accumulation is confined to a proportion of periportal hepatocytes. We have also shown a close spatial correlation between regions of copper accumulation and areas of high sulphur concentration. The copper to sulphur ratio in these areas is consistent with their identity as aggregates of copper loaded metallothionein, and the scanning proton microprobe was further able to show that the aggregates contain less than 30 ppm zinc.

Elemental mapping of human nervous tissue using the scanning proton microprobe.

The scanning proton microprobe (SPM) is a powerful multi-elemental analytical instrument capable of elemental mapping at the parts per million level of sensitivity. In this report we demonstrate that the SPM is sufficiently sensitive and versatile to distinguish different regions of the human central nervous system on the basis of differences in their normal endogenous elemental composition.